The establishments threatened have long proven to be a hub of creativity and independent entrepreneurial talent, supporting both artists and creative endeavours which in return attracts valuable assets such as investors, students and visitors interested in our city. These local businesses and retailers are an important part of our economy, character and identity. The eradication of these cherished and unique aspects to our landscape would be a crisis both economically and culturally. For example, Rare and Racy are one of the few independent traders in Sheffield left who support local and national underground record labels, publishers, magazines ect. Syd and Mallory's are a highly respected grassroots Sheffield designer emporium, whose countless achievements include national fashion shows, training of future designers and most recently they have been commissioned to design the costumes for the critically acclaimed 'This is England' series. The eradication of these cherished and unique aspects to our landscape would be a crisis both economically and culturally.

Despite years of equality legislation and the declared will of many policy-makers, women continue to be subject to economic, health, safety and power inequality in the UK. These inequalities are experienced strongly in England where women’s inequality is increasing under current public policies. In recent years we have seen attacks on legislation intended to promote greater equality, existing legislation not being implemented adequately and a regression in public attitudes to the principles of equality and social progress. The recent Queen's speech and Government Programme address only some of these issues and only in part. The SW Women's Manifesto calls for action are now even more important. We call on The Minister and all Government and Opposition MPs to pledge support to our ‘calls to action’. We have identified a number of positive, achievable actions that would make a significant difference to women’s lives, making women: • safer; • healthier; • more financially secure; • a greater presence in public policy making We believe these policies would improve the lives of children, vulnerable adults and the elderly, irrespective of gender. We are particularly concerned that women from BME communities continue to be more disadvantaged, even more than other women, and that the position of women is becoming worse relative to that of men. The discussions are moving more towards ‘families’ and women as individuals are disappearing from the agenda. See: http://www.fairplaysouthwest.org.uk/manifesto

One in twenty adults in this country is affected by thyroid disease. Women with hypothyroidism outnumber men by ten to one. Symptoms include anxiety and depression, cardiological problems, hair loss, lack of libido, physical pain, exhaustion, hypertension, high cholesterol and weight gain. Some GPs also tell patients that diabetes is an inevitable long term consequence. The NHS diagnosis and management of the condition is usually through one blood test which measures thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). The lower the thyroid hormones in the pituitary gland, the more TSH the pituitary secretes. For decades now, this condition has been treated almost exclusively with Levothyroxine, a synthetic form of one thyroid hormone: T4. For most patients, T4 in the Levothyroxine converts to T3, which is then used by the body for energy. However, for a large proportion of hypothyroidism patients, this treatment either stops working or never quite starts. Even though these people’s TSH readings might fall into the ‘normal’ range (which, depending on your GP, can be anywhere between under 5 and under 10) their symptoms soon return and worsen over time. They are then told it’s ‘all in their mind’ or due to their lifestyle, and they receive no further help to cope with an ever-decreasing quality of life. Some may, in the meantime, be prescribed anti-depressants or be diagnosed with Fibromyalgia or CFS. Others develop heart conditions, particularly atrial fibrillation, which can occur both through under and over medication: this highlights the need for a more nuanced approach to their thyroid blood tests. Most, at any rate, simply have to deal with their condition(s) on their own with very limited help from the NHS. Much success has been achieved through some enlightened NHS endocrinologists or privately, however, using a combination of levothyroxine and liothyronine (T3) or natural desiccated thyroid, the old standard treatment before Levothyroxine. There is a growing trend amongst patients to feel the need to take their treatment into their own hands, including more extensive blood tests to show the real extent of their thyroid’s condition and activity, and thereby more accurately gauge the effectiveness of medication. This does, however, mostly have to happen privately due to the limited guidelines of the NHS. This means that, apart from the individual expense, monitoring of the treatment and condition is not regulated and information/research is not being gathered by the extensive NHS network to improve its understanding and treatment of hypothyroidism. We call on you to reconsider the NHS's adherence to the TSH reading as the principal guideline for diagnosing and monitoring hypothyroidism, to take patients’ symptoms more into consideration and to routinely use a full panel of FT4, FT3 and TSH blood tests for anyone still displaying symptoms of under-active thyroid, particularly when on thyroid hormone treatment. We also call on the NHS to make the combined medication of T3 – liothyronine – with Levothyroxine much more easily available to patients whose symptoms do not sufficiently improve on T4 alone. Considering the amount of work days lost and lack of quality of life for such a large number of tax payers, it is in the country’s interest that these patients should get more help. Their symptoms of exhaustion, physical pain, depression and anxiety, along with the increased tendency to develop cardiac disease and diabetes, should not be dismissed as just another malaise of middle age when there is a growing body of evidence to the contrary from people who have managed to treat themselves back to a level of health and vitality that they, and their GPs, thought they had lost for ever.

The police on our frontline that have to deal with crime on a daily basis are being treated horrendously and all the government is doing is cutting or not replacing frontline police officers. If our officers on the frontline are not supported and are put in danger every time they go to work because of numbers or because other departments are just trying to hit targets how can they do a job of a police officer. Our government has wasted endless amounts of money on police commissioners that are paid £100k per year and do nothing to help make our communities safer. As a society without a strong structured police forces that is supported to do a great job we will Find crime isn't being solved but left for us to deal with. This is an important public service that as a community we should be fighting for and also looking at the police officers on the front line that are being treated and put in further danger everyday.

Developers are submitting speculative applications to build in locations not earmarked within Local Plans, drawn up after consultation by Local, District and County councils. Section 49 requires planning authorities to grant those applications, even though they do not wish the development to take place, as there is a presumption in favour of the developer, particularly when the local plan remains unadopted. This will result in homes being built not in accordance with the wishes of local people but wherever speculators can make a quick profit. It will damage our countryside, and our towns.

Lancashire Day was recently on the agenda at a Bolton Council Meeting with a request to reintroduce Lancashire to road signs and street furniture. This was quickly dismissed by the council leader, Cliff Morris with the response of "I wish you would get over it", he told Cllr John Walsh. "Bolton has been part of Greater Manchester for 30 years." This is not what the people of Bolton want to hear with an overwhelming 97% in favour of ending their association with Greater Manchester and restoring Bolton's Lancashire heritage.

When you become a doctor or nurse, you sign the hipocratic oath, to serve and protect the poor and vulnerable, and not to exploit them or abuse your medical 'training' (is they had any), to cause pain and distress to the vulnerable! As these Department of Work and Pensions 'doctors and nurses'. have driven hundreds of thousands, to total despair, destitution, starvation, even having to beg for food at Food Banks, and driving some (hundreds), to suicide, I demand that these medical personnel be struck off and expelled from the BMA and Medical Register for the suffering that THEY HAVE caused! These people can also be held accountable, under sections 2 & 4, of the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide!

Because our current structure offers no vehicle to challenge unfair legislation and this is a major reason that people have become disaffected with politics. Also people may broadly agree with a Government direction but be very concerned about components of their program, this gives a finer grained power to manage Government that an in/out vote

We are a growing group of families in North Bristol who want our children to grow up as fit, healthy and confident cyclists. At present there are very few opportunities for safe traffic-free cycling in this area; currently we need to load bikes on to cars and drive to places such as Festival Way or Ashton Court. Cycling on the Downs is forbidden due to a bylaw which was made in 1861. The Downs Committee (7 Merchant Venturers and 7 Councillors) has permitted a short stretch of cycle path near the Water Tower. Apart from that, this uniquely beautiful and flat parkland can only be explored on foot or via the road. Temporary closures of Circular Road on the Downs would create a brilliant car-free loop of over 3km, which children of all ages and cycling abilities could enjoy. It would also open up the Downs to people with disabilities who don’t feel safe cycling on the road alongside cars. Our campaign has support from Sustrans, The Bristol Cycling Campaign, CTC Bristol, LifeCycle, Travel West, Bikeability and Bristol Public Health. We want you to help us show the Downs Committee that there are many, many people who feel that the Downs should be a place where children can enjoy cycling in safety. By signing this petition and pledging to join our rides during Bristol Green Capital 2015, you will help to convince the committee that children should indeed have the freedom to ride on the Downs, and that this can be arranged in a way that accommodates the interests of all users of the Downs.

The people of Scotland were given a binary choice in the Independence Referendum: independence or the status quo. A majority voted for the status quo. There was no third option that more powers be devolved to the Scottish parliament and no one voted for it. Why then are the wishes of the majority being disregarded by the Smith Commission while the wishes of the SNP, who lost the referendum, are being catered for? This is an outrageous situation and shows utter contempt for the wishes of the majority. The Scottish people must now be given a vote on whether or not the Scottish parliament, which refuses to respect the wishes of the majority of Scots, should be wound up. I believe it should. People have lost all confidence in politicians who they can see are not only contemptuous of the wishes of the majority but also grossly incompetent, wasteful of taxpayer’s money and irrelevant. They are fed up of their excessive taxes, irresponsible management of the Country’s finances, restrictive and unnecessary laws, rules, regulations and red tape that damages businesses, reduces people’s standard of living, strips them of their freedom, right of expression and liberty and harms the environment. We would all benefit from having fewer politicians, lower taxes and greater freedom. For these reasons, I believe that we would all benefit from shutting down the Scottish Parliament. Politicians are a force for bad that we can do without. Please sign this petition, circulate it to everyone on your address book and help get rid of superfluous politicians.

There is clearly a need for houses to be built, but locations can be more sensitively chosen based on areas that are not in active use. The Government's initiative for backing more houses to be built is completely necessary, but surely it's more appropriate to use brown barren sites than it is to use football pitches for the purpose of building 62 new dwellings. The field known as Oakfield Rec just from Bilton Road exists in an already built-up area and is cherished by a fair amount of people. Logic dictates that it is cherished is for precisely that reason - it's green land in a built up area which a rare commodity in an area that is otherwise concrete. Not only is it green land, but it's actively used green land. Oakfield Rec is regularly in use by dog-walkers, joggers running around the football pitch, families holding picnics, people performing yoga. There's regular local Sunday League football matches played there, and people using the goals for training and Dads kicking a football around with their kids in the only publicly accessible open space around for half a mile. The Government are currently promoting a Change 4 Life program right now. Eat Well, MOVE MORE, Live Longer is the strap-line they are using, but how can that be in keeping with replacing green grass land that is actively in use for sporting and leisure purposes with even more bricks and mortar? There is no other green land within half a mile of the site of the proposed building works. This may not be a problem for many, but for folk who experience mobility difficulties a seemingly simple task such as walking the dog may now become a real problem. Yes, there is a lack of housing, but there's no lack of unoccupied homes in the UK. According to Council Tax statistics, in October 2013, 24445 properties were deemed 'long term empty' in the West Midlands. Building more houses isn't the only answer to the problem! Source: http://www.emptyhomes.com/statistics-2/empty-homes-statistice-201112/ The primary school closest to the proposed site has recently taken 35 children into its reception year, when it's recognised that the maximum should be 30. If we are going to hinder our children with over-populated classrooms then is this not a self-defeating action? Should we not be nurturing and developing our own children to be the best that they can be right from the moment they enter school at reception level? Surely we want our children's classrooms to not be overcrowded, and for them to receive the appropriate level of teacher assisted time? For the record, the primary school employed an extra teacher to handle the extra pupils, but if over-subscription remains a problem in the future (and this new build would increase the chances of that being the case) then they're going to need to be creative with how they handle that. Can they afford a new teacher for every academic year for example? With the cuts being made, it seems highly unlikely. This proposed new build clearly causes more problems than it solves and there are alternative measures that should be explored before turning the limited amount of inner town green space into yet more concrete. I urge the Co-Operative to reconsider this development, and to please lease the land back to the Council as has been the case historically.

Save our Stanah represents a group of local residents who have come together to object to plans to build up to 901 houses on Lambs Hill, Thornton. The land is classed as countryside land, and has agricultural value. It is not allocated in the Local Plan for development. It is Government policy to prioritise brownfield sites over greenfield. Should this application be passed, development in the area will be developer led, rather than plan led. The land is in a highly unsustainable location. Lambs Hill Road, Skippool Road and the A585 Poulton roundabout are a notorious bottleneck and pinch point for traffic. There are widespread traffic problems throughout the area, and no alternative routes out of Thornton for commuters. This has a highly negative impact on local businesses and investment. The land is adjacent to the Green Flag award winning Wyre Estuary Country Park. The Wyre Estuary is an internationally and nationally protected SSI and SPA site and as such should be protected and enhanced. It is a hugely popular tourist attraction and home to many protected native species. The immediate local countryside area should be positively conserved and championed in order to promote local ecology and nature interests. As residents, we highly value the rural nature of the local area, in particular the wide ranging beautiful views across the countryside to the Estuary and to the Bowland Fells. We highly value the scenery and rural aspect of our views and believe that this should be cherished and preserved for future generations. We the undersigned, as members of Save our Stanah, wish Wyre Borough Council to take account of our views and reject the Lambs Hill planning application. As a group, we hope to be able to increase the level of consultation between the Council and the local community regarding development of Thornton in the future.